Cleaning device



June 25, 1946. D. F, RODGERS CLEANING DEVICE Filed Deo. 8, 1945 m j@ o R A 0 W Patented June 25, 1946 UNITED STATES IPATENT oFFlcE CLEANING nEvIca umm, r. mum, New York, N. Y. muestran December s, 194s, semi No. 513,438

Claims. (Cl. 15-210) The present invention relates to cleaning swabs and the like, and particularly to swabs for use f in cleaning toilet bowls and the like.

Conventional devices commonly employed for the cleaning of toilet bowls and the like are bound up with numerous disadvantages. Among these may be mentioned their generally relatively insanitary character after use, which makes it extremely desirable to dispose of them directly after such use.

A desideratum in devices of this character is, manifestly, maximum ease of disposability with minimum impairment of cleaning capacity.

A primary object of the .present invention is the development, in a device of the aforementioned character, of a relationship of parts which makes it possible to a very high degree tc realize the afore-indicated desideratum.

In a presently-preferred embodiment of the invention, the device consists essentiallyrof a cleaning pad and a quick-associable and -dissociable handle therefor. An important feature of the device is that dissociation of the pad, in its insanitary state following use thereof for its intended purpose, may be easily effected without the necessity of handling or touching the pad.

A further important feature of the device is the structure of the pad whereby sufficient rigidity is imparted thereto to enable the cleaning operation to be effected, whereupon the action of the water in the bowl reduces'the pad to a state of deterioration such that, after dissociation from the handle, it may be flushed down thetoilet bowl with no danger of clogging the drain.

Still another important feature of the invention is the provision, essentially wholly interiorly of the pad, of a hollow receptacle for the reception of handle means by a snap button action. The receptacle, according to the invention, is constructed from non-metallic materials and combines the important characteristics of suilicientstrength and rigidity to effect its intended l function and of ready disposability. y

Other objects and advantages of the invention l will be evident from the following detailed de- 2 ing the female receptacle provided on the pad;

Fig. 5 is a plan view, illustrating an intermediate phase in' the production of the said receptacle;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view through a modified embodiment of pad; and

Fig. 7 is a detaii"'view, showing a method of disassembling the device.

Referring iirst to Fig. 1 of the drawingand to the embodiment of the invention disclosed therein, it will be seen that the pad .element according to this invention may be comprised essentially of a cup member I0 and a cover member Ii associable therewith, filler material i2 filling the hollow pad interior dened by members Il) and Il, handle-securing means i5 (hereinafter described in greater detail), and suitable means I3 for stiening the cover member i I and for associating said handle-securing means therewith.

Cup i0 and cover i i may convenientlybe made of a sheet or sheets of disposablepaper, tissue, pulp or other cellulosic material, preferably impregnated with a solution of water-soluble material, such as water-soluble carbohydrate, for example, starch or glucose, gelatine, glue or vegetable gum or the like or an admixture thereof. The sheets obtained, after dryingthe solution, possess suilicient plasticity to enable them to be shaped, e. g., cupped, in a suitable die, and sufiicient rigidity to enable the shaped` product to retain its shape.

The paper or cellulosic material must itself be of a type which has a relatively/low resistance to water, i. e., is essentially disintegrable upon sumciently prolonged contact with water. It must, however, be suilciently stable to enable the aforementioned impregnation to be carried out. Material of this character is readily available; use may be made of toilet paper, paper toweling, etc., for example, that of the so-called Scot Tissue type, or else the cellulosic material of which the well-known disposable sanitary napkins are made may be employed.

y The disintegrability or water-solubility of the cellulosic material, together with the watersolubility of the impregnating material, .render the Vcup I0 and cover Il readily disposable, for example, by flushing down the toilet bowl, after essential disintegration thereof. The impregnating material tends to retard 'this 4disintegration for asuiilcient time to enable the cleaning operation to be carriedout.

The gelatine, starch or other impregnating material, and particularly that used for impreging enhanced cleaning characteristics to the impregnated material, thereby better adapting the pad to its intended purpose. y l- The filler material I2 may conveniently be of the` same material as the cup'and cover members-except that it need not be impregnated nor need it have sheet characteristics. It is sufficient for this purpose to employ any readily disposable material, such as paper clippings or scrap cellulosic material or the like. y

In order to assure maintenance of the pad structure until the cleaning operation is completed, mechanical means 'in the form of a reinforcing disk I3 may preferably' be provided interiorly of and contiguous to the cover Il. 'Ihis disk, which may be circular or of any other suitable configuration, depending upon the pad configuration, may also be made' of the aforesaid paper or cellulosic material and is p referabl'y impregnated with ordinary cabinet-makers or carpenters glue which, after impregnation, is al-r lowed to dry and harden. Disk I3, when positioned within the pad as shown in Fig. 1, will enable the latter to retain its shape and will thereby commensurately facilitate thecleaning operation. This is due to the fact that the disk I3 will disintegrate or dissolve more slowly than the hereinbefore described elements of the device. Disk I3 is provided with a central opening I4 to permit of the passage of the female receptacle. This receptacle constitutes the means whereby the pad may be associated with an operating holder or handle member I6 in the manner hereinafter described.

Handle member I6 may be constituted of any suitable or desirable material of sufficient strength and resistance to water. It may, for example, conveniently comprise an enameled wooden rod provided at one end with a hook or the like and being counterbored at the other end.

for the secure reception of the shank I8 of the ball-shaped head I9. The latter is preferably slotted as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 so as to be yieldadapted to that of the head ls. The shaped lfeminine hygenicpurposes.

is disk-shaped in this embodiment, and the edges ingly associable with the correspondingly conf figured receptacle I5 by a snap button effect. Parts I8, IBmay be made of any suitable waterresistantmaterial, e. g., brass orthe like. f 'Ihe t between'shank I8 and the handle I6 is, of course, sufficiently tight to assure against undesired separation of these parts, Handle I6 may also bemade ofsuitable water-resistant synthetic resinous material, such, for example, as molded melamine-formaldehyde condensation f product.

Female receptacle I5 may conveniently be built up on a basis of gauze impregnated with paraffin wax or with a suitable gum or the like. A presently preferred method of forming the receptacle involves superposing a pluralityr of strips of impregnated gauze 20 in the criss-cross fashion shown in Fig. 5 whereby a central laminated portion of suicient thickness and strength to form the receptacle proper is produced. The associated criss-crossed strips are then pressed into a mold and, with the aid of a warm forming tool, are caused to conform to the inner configuration of the mold which is of a character to impart the illustrated essentially hollow spherical configuration to the resultant molded receptacle I5. Use is preferably made of a split mold in order to facilitate removal in intact form of the molded receptacle. The size of the receptacle is, of course,

,receptacle I5 is then dipped in glue, preferably ordinary carpenters glue, which is alloyved to dry and harden.

Assembly of the pad may conveniently be eff'ected as follows: Receptacle I5 is inserted in opening Il of disk I3 to which the free ends of strips 20 are then attached by meansrof glue. Disk I3 and associated receptacle I5 are then inserted in cover member II and glued into vplace therein. 'Ihe mouth. of the receptacle is, 'of course, alinedlwith the corresponding opening 2| inthe cover. Cup member I0 is then lled with cellulosic filler I2 andthe cover member II is then telescoped thereover into place. A peripheral strip of impregnated paper I1 may be glued into place to' seal the joint between cover and cup.

Fig. A6 shows a modified embodiment of padl structure according to which the cup member I0 consists of gauze-covered cellulosic material,l such as is commonly used in` sanitary pads for Cover member Il.l

of the member I Il' are glued or otherwise secured therebetween andthe reinforced-receptacle assembly I3, I5. This embodiment may also conveniently comprise fillermaterial I2, as hereinbefore described.

It will bemanifest from the above that the described device constitutes a realization of .the

objects of the invention. The pads are readilyA disposed of and, due to the essential disintegrability thereof, there is, no danger of clogging of plumbing appliances. The pads are conveniently stored 'in a suitable cardboard container and, due to their biscuit-like configuration, with a minimum space requirement.

The handle I6 is easily associated with the pad by movement relative to the latter in the direction of the arro'w shown in Fig. l. After use. the 'soiled pad may bel dissociated from the handle, without having to be touched, in the manner illustrated -by way of example in Fig. '7, where the pad is placed against the edge of the bowl 22 and drops into the latter, upon pulling of thc handle I6 in thedirection of the arrow, to be Iflushed away. f

Solutions which may be employed for impregnating the cellulosic material employed for the purpose of `the present invention are known and do not, per se, constitute a part of the invention. An illustrative solution which may be employed may comprise 1 part of glue, 2 parte of glucose and 3 parts of water. An aqueous solution of glue alone or of soluble starch will also give satisfactory results.

The above detailed description of the invention is primarily illustrative, and not at all limitative, in character, and various modications may be effected within the 'scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of the invention. Thus, the parts I0, II, II and I3 may, for example, be laminated up to any desired thickness with the aid, for example, of water-soluble glue.

Having disclosed the invention, what is claimed rs:

1. A cleaning swab pad of water-disintegrable cellulosic material comprising a reinforced portion of retarded water-disintegrability, and socket means in said portion for the reception of a ball-shaped handle end, whereby said swab pad is readily removable from said handle while in operative position and without handling thereof.

2. A swab pad according to claim l, said socket means consisting essentially of a molded receptacle of glue-impregnated gauze.

3. A cleaning swab for toilet bowls and the like, which comprises a cleaning pad of essentially water-disintegrable material, whereby after use the pad is easily disposable in the toilet bowl, a handle therefor, said handle having connecting means located at one end thereof, connecting means located within the body of said pad and frictionally engageable with the connecting means of said handle whereby to interconnect said handle rand pad, the connecting means located within the body of said pad including a portion of retarded water-disintegrability whereby when the handle and pad are interconnected there is initially a connection therebetween which is of sul cient strength to hold the parts together in posi n for a cleaning operation, the connecting means of said handle and pad being associable and dissociable essentially longitudinally of the handle, and the disintegration of said portion of retarded water-disintegrability during the said operation facilitating the aforesaid dissociation without the necessity of handling the pad.

4. A cleaning swab for toilet bowls and the like, which comprises a cleaning pad of essentially water-distintegrable material, whereby after useA the pad is easily disposable in the toilet bowl, a handle therefor, connecting means on said handle, said pad comprising a hollow cup member and a reinforced cover therefor. filler material in the space defined by said cup member and cover, and means in said cover for the quick association of `said pad with and quick dissociation thereof from said connecting means on said handle, said cup member being made of paper impregnated with a water-soluble stiffener.

5. A cleaning swab for toilet bowls and the like, which comprises a cleaning pad of essen-v tially water-disintegrable material, whereby 'after use the pad is easily disposable in the toilet bowl, a handle therefor, connecting `means on said handle, said pad comprising a hollow body member and a reinforced cover associated therewith, ller material in the space defined'between said body member and cover, and receptacle means in said cover for the rapid association and dissociation of said pad with said connecting means on said handle, said body member being made of exteriorly gauze-covered cellulosic wadding.

DOROTHY Pf. RODGERS. 

